Dunnage tie-down arrangement for freight loads

ABSTRACT

A dunnage tie-down arrangement for preventing upward movement of an inflatable dunnage bag which is interposed between the divided sections of a freight load within a shipping space. One or more tensioned metallic straps have their proximate ends anchored to the load section on one side of the division and their free ends disposed in overlapping sealed relationship with respect to the free ends of corresponding straps which are similarly anchored to the load section on the other side of the division. The thus joined straps bridge the load division above the dunnage bag for hold-down purposes. A method of installing such a dunnage tiedown arrangement which involves a particular sequential placement of the unit items of the load in the shipping space in order to facilitate application of the straps to the load sections and to one another.

United States Patent 1191 Melsek A 1 1 Oct. 2, 1973 [75] inventor:

[ DUNNAGE TIE-DOWN ARRANGEMENT FOR FREIGHT LOADS Norbert J. Melsek,Chicago, Ill. [73} Assigneei Signode Corporation, Chicago, ll]. 22Filed: Nov. 9, 1971 [2]} Appl. No.: 196,951

[52] U.S. Cl. 214/105 D, 2l4/l52 51 Int. Cl. 1105,; 1/20 [58] Field ofSearch 214/105 R, 10.5 D; 105/367, 369 A, 369 BA [56] References CitedUNITED STATES PATENTS 3,l45,853, A 8/1964 Langenberga 214 105 1)2,400,197 5/1946 Grodin 214/105 R X 1,693,395 11/1928 Lawton 2l4/l0.5 R

3,407,753, 10/1968 Stafford, Jr. 105/369 A X 3,554,135 1/l97l Duvall etal. 2l 4/l0.5 D X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,235,806 3/1967Germany 2 l4/l0.5 D

Primary Examiner-Gerald Forlenza Assistant ExaminerFrank E. WernerAttorney-Edward R. Lowndes.

157 ABSTRACT A dunnage tie-down arrangement. for preventing upwardmovement of an inflatable dunnage bag which is interposed between thedivided sections of a freight load within a shipping space One or moretensioned metallic straps havetheir proximate ends anchored to the loadsection on one side of'thic division and their free ends disposed inoverlapping, sealed relationship with respect to the free ends ofcorresponding straps which are similarly anchored to the load section onthe other side of the division. The thus joined straps bridge the loaddivision above the dunnage bag for hold-down purposes.'A method ofinstalling such a du'rin'age tiedown arrangement which involves aparticular sequential placement of the unit items of the load in theship ping space in order to facilitate application of the straps to theload sections and to one another.

8 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures Pmmmm 2197a SHEET 1 [IF 2 INVENTOR. NORBERTJ. MELSEK H-wancl Q. iow m Pmminm 3.762.580 SHEET 2 BF 2 INVEN'TOR.

NORBERT J. MELSEK um-J; Q- aQo Mdm,

DUNNAGE TIE-DOWN ARRANGEMENT FOR FREIGHT LOADS The present inventionrelates to a tie-down arrangement for inflatable dunnage of the typewhich is used in the shipment of freight or cargo by rail, truck, ship,aircraft and the like, as well as to a method by means of which suchtie-down arrangement may be applied to the freight. The invention isparticularly concerned with such an arrangement and method by means ofwhich inflatable dunnage bags may be held against displacement within agiven load of freight during transportation thereof and incident toshock arising from impact.

When transporting freight by rail or truck it is common practice tocushion the freight against longitudinal impact by separating the totalfreight load longitudinally into two masses and inserting an inflatabledunnage bag between the separated masses to shore the same so that uponinflation of the bag, the two masses are pushed apart and against theopposite end walls of the freight compartment. Invariably, suchseparation of thefreight is effected in the vicinity of the freight cardoors so that access to the separation for bag-insertion may readily behad.

While the above-outlined method of shoring a freight load against impacthas proven satisfactory for short haul transportation where onlymoderate impact shocks are encountered it has proven to be entirelyunsatisfactory for use in long haul transportation, or even in shorthaul transportation involving heavy impact shocks. For reasons that arenot entirely clear and which therefore are debatable, it has been foundthat when a severe impact shock is encountered, as for example in theyarding of freight where a heavy impact results from connecting ordisconnecting an engine, or

a freight car, the resultant shock to the freight will cause a givendunnage bag to literally leap upwardly from the separation betweenfreight masses and completely leave the separation, such a displacementbeing the result of a single impact. During long haul transportationwhere a series of successive light impacts take place as a result ofsudden starting or stopping of a freight car, or an uneven applicationof the brakes, there is a tendency for a dunnage bag to creep graduallyupwardly until it assumes an elevated position where it is no longereffective to cushion or shore the load.

It is believed that the cause for such upward movement of a dunnage bagresides in the creation of air pressure below the bag at the precisemoment when the load masses which are separated thereby move apart tosuch an extent that there is insufficient frictional force between theopposite sides of the bag and the load to maintain the bag in position.At the moment of impact, the trailing half of the load is forced againstthe inflated bag due to its momentum and thus compresses the bag.Ordinarily a dunnage bag is inflated to a pressure of 6 psi but it hasbeen found that for a 12 mph impact, the pressure within such a bag mayjump to as much as 15 psi, representing a total force of 30,000 poundsagainst the divided load. Then, after the impact, the bag expands andpushes the trailing half of the load rearwardly and displaces the samefrom the leading half of the load momentarily to such an extent that bagfriction on both sides is reduced. Thereafter as the trailing half ofthe load tends to be restored to its original position, the air whichhas rushed into the space beneath the bag is now compressed and hassufficient power to force the bag upwardly, much in the manner in whicha cork will pop out of a bottle which has become overpressurized. Thesetheoretical considerations are based on the observation of slow-motionmoving pictures, taken through the open freight car doorway, of adunnage reinforced load at the moment of impact.

The present invention is designed to overcome the abovenoted limitationthat is attendant upon the use of dunnage bags according to the methodof load division and shoring which has briefly been outlined above and,toward this end, the invention contemplates the provision of a novel andeffective method of restraining a dunnage bag against upward shifting,either gradually when successive impacts are encountered or completelyto the point of bag-ejection when a single severe impact shock takesplace.

Briefly, according to the present tie-down arrangement and method, it iscontemplated that in shoring a given freight load, especially stackedloads where a rectilinear vertical stacking of load units is resortedto, a separation of the total load be effected in the usual manner andin the vicinity of the: freight car doorway. During progressive loadingof the freight car the load units are brought into the car (usually bymeans of a fork or other lift truck) and stacked from the opposite endsof the car contiguously and against the end walls until only the doorwayspace of the car remains to be loaded. Loading of such doorway spacebetween the previously positioned end loads may be accomplished invarious ways, depending upon the character of the load but, in anyevent, the doorway load is handled in such a manner that it is possibleto insert reaction anchor devices between certain superimposed loadunits of previously positioned stacks within the freight car and of thedoorway stack about to be positioned in the car, after which lengths ofsteel or other strapping material which are affixed to the anchordevices are draped in an out-of-the-way position over the top of thefinally assembled doorway load and the previously positioned load.Thereafter, one or more dunnage bags are slid sidewise into the voidbetween the doorway load and the adjacent prepositioned load andinflated to shore the divided load in the usual manner of dunnageshoring. Finally the draped strapping material which extends upwardly onopposite sides of the dunnage bag is brought into overlappingrelationship above the dunnage bag or bags, and tensioned and sealed bymeans of a conventional strapping tool.

The provision of a dunnage tie-down arrangement such as has briefly beenoutlined above constitutes the principal object of the presentinvention. Other objects and advantages, not at this time enumerated,will readily suggest themselves as the following description ensues.

In the accompanying two sheets of drawings forming a part of thisspecification, one illustrative embodiment of the method, and of theapparatus by means of which such method is carried out, has been shown.

IN THESE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of thecargocarrying portion of a transportation vehicle, such as a railwayfreight car, as it appears during an initial loading stage embodying themethod and apparatus of the present invention;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are fragmentary perspective views, similar to FIG. 1,illustrating successive steps which may be carried out in progressivelyinstalling the load in the freight car in divided relationshippreparatory to insertion of the dunnage into the divided load;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view, similar to FIGS. 2 and 3,showing the collapsed dunnage positioned in the divided load and withthe latter completely loaded into the freight car;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of the load inthe vicinity of the load separation and showing the dunnage insertedinto the division preparatory to expansion of the dunnage;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view, similar to FIG. 5,

showing the dunnage in its expanded condition;

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view similar to FIGS. 5 and 6, showing thedunnage in its operative, tied down and completely installed condition;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of a unit stackof load components, the view being taken in the vicinity of thehorizontal juncture region between two individually and separatelystrapped components; and

FIG. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary detail view of one of a series of fourreaction anchor components employed in connection with the invention.

Referring now to the drawings and in particular to FIG. 1, the inventionhas been illustrated in connection with the loading of the cargocompartment of a freight transporting vehicle such as a railway car, thecompartment being defined by the car platform, roof and four walls ofthe vehicle. In the interests of clarity, only the platform 10, one sidewall 12 and one end wall 14 of the freight car have been shown, it beingunderstood that another side and end wall, and a car roof complete thecargo compartment.

The particular load which has been selected herein for exemplarypurposes is a load of plywood sheets which are uniformly cut andarranged individually strapped bundles, each bundle constituting a unitload 20. In the exemplary form of load, each unit or bundle is ofrectilinear design and is provided with elongated side faces 22 andapproximately square end faces 24. In accordance with the presentinvention, as well as in the conventioanl loading of such bundles into afreight car, the individual bundles are arranged on the car platform instacked relationship to provide a series of unit stacks which, in FIG.1, are designated by brackets 26. The unit stacks selected forillustration herein are comprised of three unit loads or bundles 20 insuperimposed relationship.

The freight car is provided with the usual pair of transversely opposeddoorways 30, only one such doorway being shown herein and in theconventional loading of the cargo compartment it is customary to utilizea suitable lift truck to bring the various unit loads into thecompartment through either doorway and arrange the unit stacks so thattheir long dimension extends transversely of the car platform 10. Thecar is loaded progressively from the opposite ends of the cargocompartment toward the medially disposed doorways 30 and the last unitstack or the last several stacks to be placed in the compartmentconstitutes the doorway fill. Depending upon the platform dimensions andthe individual stack dimensions, this last doorway fill may bepositioned in the compartment with its long dimension extending ineither the longitudinal or transverse direction, the particulardirection selected being the one which will afford the most appropriatewidth gap between such doorway fill and one of the next adjacent unitstacks for reception therein of one or more conventional inflatabledunnage bags. Still considering conventional freight car loading, afterone or more dunnage bags have been slipped sidewise into the gap, thebag or bags are inflated and the net result of such inflation is toexpand the dunnage so that the thus compressed and divided cargo massesare forced hard against the end walls of the car with adjacent unitstacks being forced hard against each other so that the entire mass ofcargo is rigidified and protected against impact shocks in a manner wellknown in the art of cargo loading. A doorway fill consisting of two unitstacks 26 having their long dimensions extending longitudinally of thecargo compartment and with the entire cargo mass being thus rigidifiedby the use of a single dunnage bag 32 is disclosed in FIG. 4. Thedisposition of the unit loads 26 and the dunnage bag 32 in this view isconventional but an additional disclosure of a tiedown arrangement whichconstitutes the essence of the present invention has been incorporated.

It has previously been set forth how, when a shock load is encounteredby the freight car, the inflated dunnage bag 32 (in the absence of thepresent tie-down arrangement) is caused to shift bodily upwardly in thegap between adjacent unit loads and how, when the impact is a severeone, the dunnage bag will leap completely out of the gap so that,thereafter, the load is loose and unprotected against subsequent impactshocks. This tendency for dunnage bag displacement is obviated by themethod and apparatus of the present invention in a manner that will befully described presently.

The foregoing description sets forth in a general way one particularmanner in which a freight car may be loaded, such method being capablewith but slight modification of accomodating the principles of thepresent invention. Before describing the present method it is deemedpertinent to describe certain conventional packaging details which aredisclosed herein and which facilitate handling of the various unit loads20 and the unit stacks 26 during loading operations, especially when themethod of the present invention is resorted to. Accordingly, as shown inFIGS. 1 and 8, and as is common practice, the plywood sheets of eachload unit are held together by tensioned loops 34 of strapping whichpass beneath and extend longitudinally along bottom runner boards 36 ofthe 2 inches X 4 inches variety and by means of which each unit is, ineffect palletized for cooperation with the fork tines of a lift truck.Additionally, at the upper side edges of the units, metal or othercorner protector strips 38 underlie the strapping loops. In order toassist in aligning the various unit loads 20 vertically in theirrespective unit stacks 26, vertical wooden spacer strips 40 areinterposed between adjacent unit stacks. For dunnage bag protectionpurposes, plywood sheets 42 (FIGS. 5, 6 and 7) straddle the dunnage bag32 and shield the latter from contact with the adjacent irregularopposed end and side faces respectively of the unit stacks 26 whichconstitute the doorway fill and the next adjacent unit stack.

According to the present invention, and in order to prevent the dunnagebag 32 from shifting upwardly under the influence of impact shock aspreviously described, a plurality of reaction anchor devices 50 such asare illustrated in detail in FIG. 9 are provided, four such devicesbeing adequate for the exemplary cargo installation of FIG. 4. Eachanchor device 50 includes an anchor member proper 52 in the form of alength of a length of lumber preferably of the 1 inch X 4 inch variety,to the ends of which there are nailed or otherwise attached lengths 54of strapping material which may be either steel or non-metallicstrapping. These anchor devices are provided for dunnage bag hold-downpurposes and, as shown in FIG. 2, they are adapted to be inserted in ahorizontal position into the spaces which exist between adjacentvertically separated unit loads 20 and the straps brought upwardlyalongside the op posed side faces of opposed unit stacks 26 with thefree endportions of the straps 54 sealed in overlapping relationshipover the upper edges of the dunnage bag or bags 32 which are disposedwithin the space or gap which exists between the two sections of thedivided load, all in a manner that will be described in detail inconnection with the loading of agiven freight car.

The manner in which a freight car having medially disposed doorways 30such as are shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 inclusive is loaded according to thepresent invention follows the general procedure previously outlined inconnection with the conventional loading and dunnage protection of suchfreight cars. It will be observed that after both ends of the platformon opposite sides of the doorways 30 have received thereon theirrespective quotas of the load, with the doorway fill remaining to beloaded, there is ample access room for the operator to enter the cargocompartment and insert one of the anchor devices 50 into the space whichexists between two superimposed unit loads at one side of the doorwayspace. The insertion is made by pushing the board 52 sidewise into suchspace and causing the straps 54 which are attached to the board 52 toextend upwardly alongside the unit stack 26, after which the free endregions of the straps may be draped over the top of the uppermost unitload in such stack. The thus installed anchor device 50 then assumes theposition in which it is illustrated in FIG. 2 and the doorway space isthen ready for reception of the last unit stack 26 which is loadedthereinto in a progressive manner as will now be described in detail.

It is necessary that in installing the final doorway load or fillsufficient working space be afforded for installation of a secondreaction anchor device 50 in the doorway fill for cooperation with thefirst installed anchor device. This, of course, could be accomplished byassembling the doorway fill outside the confines of the freight car andthen inserting the entire fill bodily into the doorway space but theaverage lift truck is not equipped to perform such a function.Therefore, according to the invention, this final doorway fill isprogressively assembled within the doorway space. Accordingly, as shownin FIG. 2, the doorway fill, which consists of two unit stacks 26extending longitudinally on the platform 30, is assembled byfirstdepositing one such unit stack on the platform of such stack beinglabelled a, b and c in FIG. 2. Thereafter two unit loads d and 6 maybepositioned on the platform in front of the unit loads 0 and b. Withthese five unit stacks thus positioned, the second anchor device 50 isapplied by inserting the board 52 as indicated in dotted lines andpushing it endwisebetween the loads d and e until itextendsinto thespace between the unit loads b and c as shown in full lines. At thispoint the free end of one strap 54 may be draped over the load a whilethe free end of the other strap may be draped over the load e. The finalload fmay then be applied as shown in FIG. 3 by withdrawing the free endof the second strap 54 and draping it over the load f after the latteris in place. The freight car load is then ready for dunnageinstallation.

The manner in which dunnage installation is effected is illustrated inFIGS. 5, 6 and 7. With the two dunnage anchor devices 50 in place aspreviously described, the aforementioned plywood sheets 42 are placedwithin the gap existing between the two adjacent unit stacks 26 and thedunnage bag 32 in its deflated condition is sandwiched between these twosheets, as clearly shown in FIG. 5. Thereafter the dunnage bag 32 isinflated to a predetermined degree of pressure so that it assumes thecondition in which it is shown in FIG. 6 with the divided sections ofthe load being forced hard against the end walls 14 of the cargocompartment.

The final operation of installing the dunnage in the load isaccomplished by bringing the free ends ofvthe previously draped straps54 together in overlapping re lationship in the manner shown in FIGS. 4and 7 and tensioning the same, after which a metallic seal such as isindicated at 60 may be crimped about the overlapping portions of thestraps 54. Prior to effecting strap overlap, a strip of cardboard orother protective material 62 may be caused to underlie the straps. Thestraps 54 thus function as holddown straps to prevent upward movement ofthe dunnage bag 32.

In the operation of the above described dunnage installation when thefreight car is in transit, when a severe impact shock is encountered andthere is a conse quent tendency for the dunnage bag 32 to shift bodilyupwardly as previously described, the overlapping and sealed portions ofthe straps 54 serve to prevent such upward shifting. As shown in FIG. 7,the straps 54 are under tension and, as a consequence, the reactionanchor boards 52 are caused to bind within the spaces between adjacentsuperimposed unit loads 20 so that they will not become dislodged.

The particular form of dunnage which is employed for insertion betweenthe divided sections of the load and to which the tie-down arrangementof the present invention is applied constitutes no part of the presentinvention and various forms of dunnage bags are suitable for use in thusdividing the load. Although a single dunnage bag 32 has been illustratedfor loaddividing purposes, it is contemplated that two or more dunnagebags, positioned in either contiguous or spaced apart edge-to-edgerelationship between the load divisions may be employed if desired. Asan example of a particular dunnage bag whichis suitable for use inconnection with the present method and installation, reference may behad to US. Pat. No. 2,674,206 granted on Apr. 6, 1954 and entitledShoring Construction. Irrespective of the particular form of dunnageemployed, the essential features of the invention remain the same.

Insofar as the particular means which is employed for sealing theoverlapping free ends of the various cooperating straps 54 is concerned,various strapping tools are suitable for such use. One such tool ismanufactured and sold by Signode Corporation of Chicago, Illinois underthe designation Model No. PNSC-58 and consists of a small portablepneumatic hand tool having facilities for tensioning a strapping loop,applying a metallic seal to the overlapping portions of the loop and,finally crimping the seal.

The invention is not to be limited to the exact arrangement of partsshown in the accompanying drawings or described in this specification asvarious changes in the details of construction may be resorted towithout departing from the spirit of the invention. Neither is theinvention to be limited to the precise method steps set forth sinceinstallation of the dunnage into the void which exists between theseparated load sections and application of the tie-down arrangementthereto may be accomplished by procedures other than those set forth.For example, while the anchor devices 50 are applied to the spaces whichexist between the two lowermost pairs of superimposed load units 0, dand b, e, it is obvious that these devices 50 may be applied between thetwo uppermost pairs of load units [2, e and a,f. Therefore, only insofaras the invention has particularly been pointed out in the accompanyingclaims is the same to be limited.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

l. The method of shoring a plurality of freight items, which consist ofvertically stacked unit loads, between the substantially rigid end wallsof a shipping compartment and which comprises the steps of: positioningsaid items in said compartment so as to establish a space between onepair of adjacent items, fastening the ends of respective lengths ofstrapping to a pair of anchor members, inserting one such anchor memberbeneath respective unit loads on opposite sides of said space,positioning an inflatable dunnage bag within said space, inflating saidbag to expand the same and force the thus divided freight against saidend walls while at the same time maintaining said anchor memberscaptured beneath the respective unit loads, causing the free end regionsof the lengths of strapping to overlap in bridging relationship withrespect to said space directly above the inflated bag, and uniting saidoverlapping end regions under tension.

2. The method of shoring a plurality of freight items as set forth inclaim 1, wherein the step of inserting the ends of the lengths ofstrapping beneath the unit loads is effected at regions appreciablybelow the uppermost level of the freight items.

3. The method of shoring a plurality of freight items as set forth inclaim 2, wherein the anchor members are inserted between adjacentvertically stacked unit loads.

4. The method of shoring a plurality of freight items as set forth inclaim 3, wherein the step of uniting said overlapping end regions of thelengths of strapping under tension consists in shifting said overlappingend regions relative to each other in opposite directions to tensionsaid lengths, and crimping a metallic seal about the same when apredetermined degree of tension has been attained.

5. In a freight shoring installation, in combination, a shippingcompartment having a platform deck and substantially rigid spaced apartend walls, a plurality of freight items consisting of vertically stackedunit loads positioned on said deck between said end walls, one pair ofadjacent items being spaced from each other and defining a gaptherebetween, an anchor member positioned beneath a unit load of eachfreight item, an expanded inflatable dunnage bag disposed in said gapand serving to force the thus divided freight against said end wallswhile at the same time maintaining said anchor members captured beneaththe respective unit loads, means for securing one end of each strap toone of said anchor members, said straps passing upwardly alongside theadjacent freight items and the other ends of the straps overlapping eachother in bridging relationship with respect to said gap and above theexpanded dunnage bag, and means for securing said overlapping ends otthe straps together directly above the dunnage bag.

6. In a freight shoring installation, the combination set forth in claim5, wherein the straps are secured to the opposed side faces of saidspaced apart adjacent items below the uppermost level thereof so thatthe straps extend upwardly alongside the bag on opposite sides of thelatter.

7. In a freight shoring installation, the combination set forth in claim6, wherein the anchor members are interposed between adjacent verticallystacked unit loads.

8. In a freight shoring installation, the combination set forth in claim7, wherein said unit stacks consist of plural pairs of verticallystacked unit loads, the anchor members, are in the form of. lengths oflumber which extend transversely of the platform deck and underlie onepair of unit loads.

1. The method of shoring a plurality of freight items, which consist ofvertically stacked unit loads, between the substantially rigid end wallsof a shipping compartment and which comprises the steps of: positioningsaid items in said compartment so as to establish a space between onepair of adjacent items, fastening the ends of respective lengths ofstrapping to a pair of anchor members, inserting one such anchor memberbeneath respective unit loads on opposite sides of said space,positioning an inflatable dunnage bag within said space, inflating saidbag to expand the same and force the thus divided freight against saidend walls while at the same time maintaining said anchor memberscaptured beneath the respective unit loads, causing the free end regionsof the lengths of strapping to overlap in bridging relationship withrespect to said space directly above the inflated bag, and uniting saidoverlapping end regions under tension.
 2. The method of shoring aplurality of freight items as set forth in claim 1, wherein the step ofinserting the ends of the lengths of strapping beneath the unit loads iseffected at regions appreciably below the uppermost level of the freightitems.
 3. The method of shoring a plurality of freight items as setforth in claim 2, wherein the anchor members are inserted betweenadjacent vertically stacked unit loads.
 4. The method of shoring aplurality of freight items as set forth in claim 3, wherein the step ofuniting said overlapping end regions of the lengths of strapping undertension consists in shifting said overlapping end regions relative toeach other in opposite directions to tension said lengths, and crimpinga metallic seal about the same when a predetermined degree of tensionhas been attained.
 5. In a freight shoring installation, in combination,a shipping compartment having a platform deck and substantially rigidspaced apart end walls, a plurality of freight items consisting ofvertically stacked unit loads positioned on said deck between said endwalls, one pair of adjacent items being spaced from each other anddefining a gap therebetween, an anchor member positioned beneath a unitload of each freight item, an expanded inflatable dunnage bag disposedin said gap and serving to force the thus divided freight against saidend walls while at the same time maintaining said anchor memberscaptured beneath the respective unit loads, means for securing one endof each strap to one of said anchor members, said straps passingupwardly alongside the adjacent freight items and the other ends of thestraps overlapping each other in bridging relationship with respect tosaid gap and above the expanded dunnage bag, and means for securing saidoverlapping ends ot the straps together directly above the dunnage bag.6. In a freight shoring installation, the combination set forth in claim5, wherein the straps are secured to the opposed side faces of saidspaced apart adjacent items below the uppermost level thereof so thatthe straps extend upwardly alongside the bag on opposite sides of thelatter.
 7. In a freight shoring installation, the combination set forthin claim 6, wherein the anchor members are interposed between adjacentvertically stacked unit loads.
 8. In a freight shoring installation, thecombination set forth in claim 7, wherein said unit stacks consist ofplural pairs of vertically stacked unit loads, the anchor members, arein the form of lengths of lumber which extend transversely of theplatform deck and underlie one pair of unit loads.